𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎!

Zatanna felt a little flush creep up the back of her neck. While it was true, she hadn’t expected him to have heard her or even bring it up again. She frowned, pursing her lips together as she considered him for a second longer. “That’s why I asked. I can’t imagine being trapped inside your own head with that thing. Do you have any answers to what it is?”

dick’s throat tightened when z jumped right into it - not for lack of tact, purely for efficiency. it all seemed like it was ticking down to an inevitable disaster, so time was of the essence. “i don’t know how to describe it. it’s like i was there, but i wasn’t there. the memories of what he’s done are coming back to me slowly, though.” he admitted, his lips set in a grimace. there was no pleasantness in waking up with fresh bouts of reveries, blood on his hands and the satisfaction that wa snot his own yet came from somewhere inside his mind at a job well done. “i don’t know, z. it’s not anything i’ve dealt with before.” he finally answered, and there was a little concession to the obvious. “when you...you did something, back in city hall...?” he wasn’t sure where to direct his query. magic was never his forte.

“No, he didn’t.” Jason agreed with a small frown. “But that’s the Court’s fault. Not yours.” He noted, knowing it was another mark Dick was putting against himself. He had no idea of the things people had been hiding from him to keep him safe, anyone who got hurt in aid of that was not on his conscience, even if he tried to put them there.

“I did.” He confirmed with a tired sigh. “Not quite the nightmare I expected but it wasn’t exactly easy.” He huffed. Rory’s initial reaction to his identity had not been the greatest experience - she had been understandably hurt by his deception, and even more so when she realised it was not the first or last he had maintained in their relationship. “But we got through it. And we’re better for it.” He muttered, rolling his eyes at the pointed look on Dick’s face. “You were right.”

dick’s expression didn’t shift even when he tried to visibly incline any reaction to jason’s assurance. it was hard to allow himself any of the comfort, when so much death and blood hung on the trails of his name alone. “i don’t know if that matters.” he finally responded with a shake of his head. 

dick nodded slowly as jason carefully filled him in on the situation with the nurse, the corner of his lip turning up in a barely concealed smug look. he didn’t even have to say it, jason did it for him. “i’m just saying, if people in this family listened to me and barbara more, half of our problems would have never happened.” dick let the tease trail off before he fixed jason with a genuine look, “you deserve this, you know that right? you deserve to be happy with her.”

Jason let out an imperceptible sigh of relief as Dick made a point of removing any rogue specs of dirt from his shoes before stepping in. He graciously avoided looking as Dick fed Alfie a few extra treats from his pocket - he was sure the dog would get snuck quite a few treats tonight from their guests, and Jason wasn’t above admitting he’d probably be guilty of it too. But if he didn’t see most of it then he couldn’t judge himself for over-indulging his dog too much tonight.

“You’re gonna give me a crick in my neck.” He complained as Dick hooked an arm tight around his shoulders, hunching slightly for the action to be feasible. “Yeah, it’s nice - it is nice, isn’t it?” He muttered - he had loved the place instantly when he and Rory had seen it, already planning out how they would utilise the space as they moved through it. Still, this was the first place he had ever had to truly make a home, that he allowed himself to leave an imprint of himself in it. He couldn’t help but feel that it put him under additional scrutiny, and even on his good days there was that subconscious seeking of approval from Dick.

dick let out a huff at jason’s protest, not really to let him go just yet, before he eventually released his hold and gave jason a good pound on the back, “it’s nice.” he assured him, “you know, we always move around, the nicest i’ve ever lived has to be titans tower. this reminds me of it.” dick’s memories of the tower had been nothing but pleasant, a home filled with warmth and camaraderie, and a lot of first. “i’m proud of you.” dick finally offered jason a wider smile, “why don’t you show me around?”

“I’ll be damned,” he hissed with a feigned shock. “Dick Grayson in the flesh. I must be seeing things.”

@dickxgrayscn​

dick’s expression balked a little when he saw tim, tim who’d been under the radar, practically unreachable for weeks now. “you look....not as bad as i thought you would.” he breathed out with a little relief, “good. you look good, tim.”

“So what do are you thinking for dinner tonight? Pizza or Chinese? Or maybe both…” Rose asked offhandedly, flipping through some different take out menus as she leaned across the kitchen island. Her dirty blonde locks were pulled up in a messy bun and she wore a simple black tank top with a pair of Grayson’s sweatpants sitting low on her hips as they were a size or two too big.

She had made herself more and more comfortable in the weeks following their emotional reunion and the housewarming at Jason and Rory’s. It was a mix of wanting to make up for lost time as well as secretly wanting to keep an eye on him. Not that he couldn’t handle himself but she wanted to be there if he needed her. None of them liked to ask for help but if she was there when it started, or maybe even head off the trouble before it started…

Glancing up, she caught his gaze curiously when she didn’t get an answer right away. “What? What’s with that look? Not hungry?”

@dickxgrayscn​

the previous weeks had settled into a monotone that was unfamiliar to the detective. the sense of the other show dropping lingered, always looking around the corner but they seemed to never really turn that corner. dick wanted to believe that this was good, but that also came with the implicit end of the that sentence. it was as good as it gets. he didn’t want that to be the byline of his life. in fact, now that he’s gotten a taste of how good it could be, especially after so much bad -- it replenished dick’s hope. 

ever the optimist, he watched rose as she draped herself over the island while turning through various menus -- it had been a while since he’d been this comfortable with someone else in his space. his personal space, and he really, really didn’t mind it. his brows arched when she caught his gaze, thought it didn’t deter him. instead, he shrugged his shoulders, “anything sounds good right now.” 

dick finally closed the distance between them, his hand pressing into the small of her back before it trailed to eth curve of her waist and finally pulled her closer, “you know...it’s been good for while. i think a big part of that is because of you.” he admited as he tilted his head, “what say you?”

Rose: ....an embarrassing amount but if you tell anyone that I'll deny it

Rose: I mean, I do love Say Anything but what's with the gesture? Something special I should be aware of?

Dick: Noted.

Dick: I'm sure he's on his way to tell you but Jason is throwing a housewarming at his new place.

dick turned the box in his hands one more time as his eyes turned nervously between the delicate pattern of the oak box, to the building they were intending to enter. nervous was the understatement of the year; he’d given rose a promise that he’d try, and himself too was owed a little fun for one night at least. still, there weren’t many good ways to tell your brother you were dating his best friend who happened to be his ex and one of his closest confidants. 

he pushed away the doubt and every thought that came with it before his hand searched for hers, leaning in for quick moment of intimacy to peck her check before they entered the party scene, “you look really beautiful.” he provided, as if he needed an explanation for any public display of affection, “you ready?”

Despite the fact their place was spotless - a combination of the fact it had yet to barely be lived in and his own rigorous once, twice and thrice, over before the party - Jason still swept his gaze around the room with a critical eye as he went to get the door. It may have just been an excuse to see people now that things were beginning to settle down, and he was sure most people were just there to take up some free booze, this was the first time Jason had properly hosted, well… anything. So sue him, he was a little nervous.

“Hey!” He greeted, entirely over-enthusiastic for anyone who knew his usual demeanour. “Welcome! And wipe your feet on the mat.” He tacked on, Alfie giving a soft ‘boof’ to back him up, having followed Jason to the door to sit expectantly in receipt of pats.

@ccfstarter​

dick dutifully listened to the instruction, making sure to wipe his feet with zeal against the welcome mat before stepping in. “hey there, bud.” dick patted the eager dog, already digging out a couple of treats from his jacket - he doubted jason would mind. he recognized the familiarity and almost boyish anxiety bubbling up in the form of nervous glee on jason’s face -- it was a good kind of trepidation. like how dick felt before releasing from one trapeze performer to soar midair. 

he smiled warmly at his brother before, in very older sibling fashion, he swung his arm around jason’s shoulders to pull him in, even when jason had a few inches of height on him it didn’t deter dick from the affectionate peeve while his eyes took catalog of the expanse before him, letting out a small whistle, “not too bad, little brother. i think i’m a little jealous.”

Dick: So what romantic comedies have you watched?

Zatanna watched him closely for any signs of deception and she quickly put up a hand to interject. “Okay, admitting your were cute one time does not make it a crush,” she corrected before letting out a relieved sigh. It was actually Dick, thank the heavens. “I’m okay. A little sore, but I’ve had worse. How are you?”

dick’s lips flickered up at his successful attempt to insert some levity into the situation. he held up his hands in surrender, “whatever you say.” he murmured, though the smile dissipated off his features as his eyes flickered down to where she’d been injured. “do you want an honest answer? you’ve been in my head, you saw what it was like.”

“A successful woman tends to attract enemies.” Amelia muttered vaguely in answer. “Business rivals. None of it was ever personal. If someone escalated that and targeted Alicia, well… I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you who would be so unhinged as to do that.” She elaborated with a faux grave shake of her head.

“A little.” She confirmed, narrowing her eyes curiously at the personal question. “I know how to take care of myself, detective. Most women have to.” She told him, resisting the urge to purse her lips in displeasure. No one was supposed to know Alicia had been there at the beginning - she had insisted on dealing with Ivy’s priming herself, despite the risk if they were caught. "If it was a business meeting, then yes. But I have to assume if she was there without notifying me it was a personal matter. She was my client, detective, not my friend. I don’t pry where I’m not needed.” 

“do you think you could give me a list of all of ms. baker’s business dealings? it’s our job, after all, to put the pieces together and figure out who would be ...unhinged enough to do that.” he used her very same words to convey empathy, though he didn’t buy her performance for a second. she was hiding something - that, he was sure of. 

“of course. i was going to suggest assigning a person detail to you, if you feel that ms. baker has been targeted, i wouldn’t put it beyond whoever went after her to go after the keeper of her estate.” dick easily covered up the intrusive question, glancing up from his notepad as he noted the grim set of her mouth. bingo. “of course. can you point me in the direction of any friends who would be more privy to such information? no detail is too small, as you know. any kind of information could bring us closer to finding who did this.”

“You know she’s smart enough to realise that suggestion comes from you - no offence Grayson but I don’t want to give her ideas.” Maggie joked. She was already trying hard to steer away Jaime from following the footsteps of basically everyone around her and becoming a cop one day. But travelling circus wasn’t exactly the path she was aiming for either - she still had hope Jaime would pick something perfectly mundane and calm in the future. “Some classes might not hurt though.” She admitted. A hobby would do the girl some good, especially one that kept her active. “So where you been - vacationing without me?”

dick pretended to shrug his shoulders playfully, “i mean, i don’t know what to tell you, it’s not the worst idea out there.” dick watched the young girl happily bounce along the monkey bars before he cleared his throat finally at her question, the sound disappearing into a chuckle, “i wish.” he mumbled before he ran a hand along the back of his head, “eh, i was on sick leave. nothing too serious, just a concussion that put me out of commission for a while.” he lied - it was the only good reason he could come up with, and had been the story he stuck with at the station. “i came back just to get a little bit of action. mark mardon?” he gestured to himself with a quick whistle, indicating the collar had been his before sipping his coffee.

As Lois waited for her document to load, her slim fingers hovered impatiently over the clean black keys, the screen taking its sweet time booting up after she disabled the screensaver. Nicely shaped teeth pressed into the plastic casing of her pen, crescent indents made by her strained overbite as she slid it behind her ear. There wasn’t a single writing instrument in the holder at the corner of her desk that hadn’t been marked. It was a pernicious habit that manifested itself only when she was attempting to complete a particularly interesting article. As were the dozen or so lukewarm tea cups that adorned her desk. 

Lois was only fifteen minutes into her lunch break and less than a half-block from the office when revelation struck for the ideal ending to her story. She had always thought that when inspiration struck, it was critical to strike while the proverbial iron was hot, which is what sent her scurrying back into the office before she could even decide what to feed her hungry unborn babies. If she hadn’t been in such a hurry, she may have seen the familiar face, but her focus was solely on returning to her computer before the words vanished from her mind.

Lois hadn’t been bluffing when she promised to cite the Weather Wizard; in fact, an entire section of her piece was devoted to her encounter with him at the Marina, and she was seriously contemplating conducting a follow-up interview now that he was being detained at Iron Heights. Though she doubted Clark would be on board for that. Lois registered the knock but not the voice that followed, her brows furrowed in the concentration. She raised her hand to signify that she required a second before she was ready to interact.

“Corruption, is that one ’r’ or two?” Sure, she may a prize winning journalist, but she couldn’t be perfect at everything. She looked up, expecting a response and finally realized who stood in her doorway. “Detective Grayson, hello!” her article willingly forgotten in favor of greeting the man responsible for ensuring her safety when she was trapped at the Marina. “There’s nothing to forgive, you’re welcome to interrupt anytime you like after all you did for me” she beamed, waving him further into the room. “But I’ll never say no to free lunch, is that chicken parmesan I smell?” she swore she had the nose of a bloodhound ever since she got pregnant. “Please take a seat”

“um,” dick pressed his lips together into a melodramatic hum as he though seriously on the question he was being asked, “i think two?” he answered, though his tone tapered off into slight curiosity before he smiled when he was greeted by the journalist’s bright smile. “ah, i was just doing my job.” he bowed his head bashfully at her praise before he walked into the office, his brows arching, clearly impressed at her spot on guess, “that’s impressive. we could use you on the force, mrs. lane.” he joked before he tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket, swinging onto his heels for a brief moment until he was invited to take a seat.

“i won’t take up much of your time. i just wanted to do finish up my report and i needed some details to wrap up your statement.” he mumbled, flinching a little at how painfully tactical his words sounded. his hand hovered over his pocket, lingering a little before it fell to his lap again, allowing the small notepad to sit there for a little while, “you’re doing well, right?” the woman had certainly left an impression on him -- not because she was one of the most renowned reporters in the country, but because the character she displayed in the face of jeopardy, laying her safety on the line to help him, help others, and confront a deranged metahuman. and not once did he perceive a lack of affection for her babies, if anything they seemed to drive her. he admired that. people like her gave him purpose.